Heat is an integral part of your pipeline system, and depending
on how it's managed, it can make or break things for you (literally).
Your team knows well that heat causes expansion. When pipes
expand, it affects your connections, and when your connections
are not up to the mark, you will need to deal with leaks. The
result is inefficiency, downtime and a lowering of your bottom
line. Using expansion joints is one proven way to mitigate many
of the adverse effects of heating.

How do expansion joints work?

An expansion joint has one of a couple of uses. It can be used
to control thermal expansion and minimize its disruptive influence.
It can also be used as a shock absorber to reduce stress on
joints, and cut noise. Expansion joints work by being extremely
responsive to outside stress. They are designed with folds in
the material (the metal ones are called bellows). This allows
for more movement - axial, lateral and angular. The result is
the absorption of a lot of the heat and pressure that might
otherwise be placed on the piping.

Expansion joints are usually made of metal, rubber or a mix
(braided stainless steel hoses). Metal expansion joints compress
when pipes are getting hot, to counter the movement caused.
This relieves the stress from the pipes. Rubber expansion joints
are used to absorb both heat and shock and are most often used
in applications requiring noise reduction or protection from
vibration caused by pressure and other external disturbances.
Braided expansion joints are more flexible connectors. They
are typically used at outlets and nozzles to eliminate load
and improve performance.

Here are a dozen reasons why you should consider using expansion
joints!

1. They lengthen the life of your piping by preventing them
from excessively expanding due to differences in temperature.
2. They help solve issues relating to alignment caused by vibration
from pumps, other equipment or the environment.
3. They absorb some of the stress created at load points.
4. They help bring better connectivity and keep things from
breaking down.
5. They reduce the strain placed on your pump casings (70 percent
of pump failures could be attributed to excessive strain on
pump casings ).
6. They allow you to easily use prefabricated piping with less
chance of misalignment - a choice that saves time and money.
7. They are designed with arches to allow for movement, compression,
and extension, which gives them a wide range of functions that
protect your equipment.
8. They can help you design, and start to work in, several sections
of your piping simultaneously rather than force you to start
at the pump with its immediately connected pipes.
9. When rubber expansion joints are reinforced with fabric or
metal, they can expand and elongate to work on the suction and
discharge sides of the pump, to isolate it.
10. They can significantly cut the noise levels in your operations.
11. They can greatly reduce your maintenance bills.
12. They cut costs associated with regular replacement of pipes
due to wear and tear.

About Us

Vissers Sales Corp. is a Canadian distributor and representative for liquid handling equipment related to the Chemical/Industrial market. We specialize in all types of pumps, mixers, valves, process controls, level and flow controls.